Quietly Forever
by seilleanmor
Summary: Season four fic, set shortly after Once Upon a Crime. A misunderstanding makes the green-eyed monster rear its ugly head.
1. Chapter 1

Title is from _Zombie Tag_ by Hannah Moskowitz

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**Quietly Forever**

* * *

Richard Castle is cautiously optimistic.

Lately, she's been smiling at him. All the time. He assumes she doesn't know that he sees it, because honestly. . .how is he supposed to _not_ kiss her when she looks at him like that. Her face open with something the braver part of him wants to call love.

And it isn't just the smiling, either. She's been touching him. A palm low down at the base of his spine, the bump of her shoulder against his bicep. Her fingers curling into his. It gives him strength, courage. The fortification of knowledge. At the very least, she cares about him.

Enough to sit through his mother's entirely fanciful recount of his childhood. Enough to cry out in something close to desperation when Sophia had a gun pointed at his head. So yes, he's brave with it.

And he's going to tell her again. He's still entirely unconvinced that she doesn't remember what he said to her that day. Not with the way she couldn't meet his eyes when he asked her about it. But then, he can hardly blame her for not bringing it up.

This is Kate Beckett he's talking about. He likes to think that he understands her. So when he waited until she was dying in his arms with the sharp scattering of grass surrounding them to tell her that he loved her, he can see why she might have written it off. Might think he was saying it as a friend, offering it to her as a plea to keep her here without really meaning it.

So this time, when he says it again, she won't be dying. He'll take her hand and he'll meet her eyes and there will be no fear, no sticky spill of her lifeblood between his fingers. Just _Kate, I'm in love with you_. Adrenaline kicks hard in his chest just thinking the words and he must give off some kind of tell because she's frowning at him, peeling her eyes away from the computer monitor to watch him wriggle in his chair.

"You okay?"

Somehow, he arranges his face into an approximation of a smile, nodding vigorously at her. "Yes, yeah. Great. You?"

She startles at that, but her mouth quirks upwards at the corners and a pretty flush fills her cheeks. Oh. _Oh_. Huh. Kate Beckett is blushing because he asked how she is. Because he cares about her. Interesting. "Yeah. Good. Uh. . .you want coffee?"

"I'll get it." He says, maybe a little too eager. Okay, tone it down Rick. Honestly, he hasn't even asked her to have dinner with him yet.

That's the first step in his absolutely fool proof, brilliant plan to tell her he loves her again. He'll take her out to dinner, woo her as much as he can get away with and then-

Well. He's trying not to plan it out too much. Ever hopeful that she'll surprise him.

Castle stands from his chair and is just about to turn and head for the break room when the touch of Kate's fingers in his, slender and cool, makes him startle and stare down at her. Her smile is wide and gorgeous and a little self-conscious, her thumb circling at the back of his hand now. "Thank you, Castle."

A really, really stupid part of him wants to lean down and kiss the top of her head, reel her in with a palm curled at the back of her neck. Only, Ryan and Esposito are right there and already looking at them strangely, and it's not something they do. No, he and Kate have been touching more and more often lately, but no kissing.

Not cheeks. Not heads. Most definitely not mouths. And great, now he's thinking about his mouth on hers and whether he can get her to moan again the way she did the last time. He untangles himself from her grip and smiles right back at her, stuffs his hands in his pockets to stop himself from tugging her up out of her chair and somewhere private with him.

"You're welcome."

Making coffee is an art, now. A skill at which he is finely honed. He can do it quickly, but nonetheless delicious every time. And he's grateful for that, especially today. It means that he doesn't have much time to dwell on this thing with Beckett. Whatever it is that has always been between them has a new lease of life, now. He imagines it like the brand new shoots that poke up from the ground in springtime. Huddled low down and vulnerable, in need of nurturing, but with all the potential for something beautiful.

Rick finishes up with Beckett's latte, his own cappuccino and pushes the break room door open with his hip, a mug cradled in each hand. In the beginning, way back when Beckett terrified and enthralled him in equal measure, he drank vanilla lattes too. So that if he dropped one on the way to her, she would at least still get her coffee.

And then she found out, had teased him mercilessly over it and he had reverted back to cappuccinos again, his pride more than a little wounded. He was only trying to do something good for her, keep her caffeinated, and she had been entirely unappreciative.

Shaking his head, Castle watches her at her desk and lets the sight of her ease the sudden tension the memory has laced through his shoulders. It's different now. She's different.

She's_ grateful_. When he gets to her desk and sets her coffee down in front of her she wraps both hands around it and cradles it to her chest, grinning at him before she takes a sip. He will never understand why she feels the need to drink while her coffee is still scalding, why she likes to burn herself on the first mouthful every time.

"Good?"

"Always is." She lifts an eyebrow at him, tilting her head and studying him carefully. Right, of course she can tell that something's going on with him. She is, after all, a detective. A damn good one, best in the city as he told the mayor, and so it's difficult to hide his stupid, tender heart from her at the best of times.

Not that he really wants to. No, his heart is all hers. "Uh, Kate. I was thinking. . ."

Kate sets her coffee down and clasps her hands, traps them between her knees. She looks expectant, but not at all scared. Almost hopeful, in fact. "Yeah?"

"Would you like to get dinner with me?"

"Oh." She gasps, a hand coming up to cover her mouth as if to hold back any more involuntary reactions. And then she smiles at him, the closed-mouth one that makes her eyes crease at the corners and shine with delight. "I would love to."

Castle takes a deep breath, steels himself. "It's a date."

"Tonight?" She hums, her face still ripe with that nascent expectation and he realises, belatedly, she doesn't want to wait. Kate Beckett is ready for this, for him. She wants to go on a date, with him, _tonight_.

Grinning wide, Rick takes her hand in his and circles his thumb over the back of it, half expecting to find a massive golden retriever staring up at them. Her face is just the same as that night. A little panicked, but all the same bright with the birth of something new between them.

"Tonight is great. I'll pick you up?"

"You don't want to head straight from the precinct?"

It's so silly, so juvenile, but he wants to get cleaned up for her. Wants to spend hours deliberating over which tie to wear and whether he should shave or leave his jaw scattered with the stubble that always makes her eyes widen in appreciation. There's something adolescent about the terrifying newness of it all, and he wants to revel in it.

"I want us to dress up, Kate. Do it properly." He says quietly, her hand suddenly a little clammy in his. Good. So he's not the only one completely ruined by this.

She flushes again, chews at her bottom lip and dips her head to avoid his gaze. She's so ridiculously adorable that he doesn't quite know what to do with himself. Wants so desperately to hold her close. For forever, but even just five minutes will do.

"You want me to wear a dress for you?"

He shrugs, lets himself leer just a little. "Doesn't have to be a dress. Just wear something sexy."

That gets a laugh out of her and she eases her hand free from his grip, turns back to her computer monitor. Conversation over, apparently, but that's good too. They're going on a _date_. He can't believe she actually said yes.

And now he needs to get out of here, really, because otherwise he will spend the entirety of the afternoon just staring at her and constructing a hundred thousand different scenarios of how tonight will go and he'd really rather she didn't backtrack before they've even had their first official date.

"I'm gonna head home." He stands up from his chair, hesitates at the edge of her desk. And yes, he doesn't miss the wash of confusion and hurt over her face, just a moment before she schools herself back into something neutral. "I have to make reservations. I'll pick you up at eight?"

"Okay." She hums, tucking the spill of her curls back behind her ear and smiling softly up at him again. It only solidifies his desperate need to get out of here, because if she keeps smiling at him like that he absolutely will not be able to stop himself from kissing her. "See you at eight."

He makes it all the way to the elevator before he realises, like an idiot, that he left his cell phone in his drawer in Kate's desk. This morning, he was trying to beat his Angry Birds score and getting increasingly frustrated when he couldn't, so much so that eventually Kate snapped and snatched his phone away from him, shoved it into his drawer and told him he wasn't allowed to touch it again unless it rang.

When he makes it back to Kate's desk she's just answering her phone, facing away so she doesn't see him approaching. "Beckett."

Castle crosses his fingers and prays to every deity that it's not a case, that they won't have to take a raincheck on their date. It all feels so tentative; he's pretty sure that if they don't do this tonight, now, while they're both a little giddy with it, then there'll never be another chance.

He's just about to sit down in his chair when Kate speaks again. "Will! Oh my god, hi! Are you back in town?"

Just like that, his whole world crumbles. Sure, she just said yes to a date with him. She smiled. She held his hand. But now she's got god damn Agent smug-stupid-jawline Sorenson on the phone and she looks happier than he can remember ever having seen her.

She still hasn't noticed him hovering, her whole attention span sucked up by the man on the other end of the phone. "Yeah of course, I'd love to. I have plans tonight, but I should be able to reshuffle them. Okay. I'll see you then."

Gritting his teeth, Castle yanks open his drawer and snatches up his cell phone, shoving it into his pocket and stalking away from Beckett's desk before she can do so much as call his name. He doesn't need to hear her platitudes.

Really, Beckett. He gets it. A better offer came along. He'll just. . .go. Before he embarrasses himself any further. Leave her to it.

Even if walking away from her does feel like a fist tightening in his gut.

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**Tumblr:** katiehoughton

**Twitter:** seilleanmor


	2. Chapter 2

**Quietly Forever**

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He's been sulking at his desk for approximately three hours and seventeen minutes when his mother makes it home. Bringing with her noise and exuberance and everything he's been trying to drown with the two fingers of scotch in his glass. He's been nursing the same tumbler-full this whole time because since he met Kate, since he met Jim, he can't quite bring himself to drink into oblivion.

"Darling." His mother calls when she spots him, striding through into his office and shedding her coat, draping it over the arm of a chair before she sinks down gracefully. "I wasn't expecting you to be home so early. Something happen at the precinct?"

Rick grits his teeth and scrubs a hand down his face, feels the scalding flood of tears start to build in his throat. He really, really doesn't want to cry over her. He did enough of that this summer, wept for the life he hadn't lost but might as well have done.

"I asked Kate to dinner."

"And she said no." His mother murmurs, not a question. She stands up from her chair and comes around to lean on his desk instead, her fingers curling at his shoulder. "Oh kiddo, I'm sorry."

Somehow, he manages to meet his mother's gaze. Feeling so stupid, so vulnerable, like a little boy whose first crush has just broken his heart. "No. She said yes."

"Okay. . ." His mother frowns at him, forehead creased with confusion.

He sucks in a breath, pushes his chair backwards and stalks over to the window. Dusk is settling over the city, lights slowly flickering on in all of the blocks that surround his own. He loves this time of day, the slow descent of nightfall. He's had visions of walking hand in hand with the woman he loves as the sun dips below the horizon and into the belly of the earth, the sky above them streaked with lilac and gold.

Not that it matters anymore. "She got a call from Sorenson. He's back in the city. She told him she'd cancel her plans tonight and meet up with him."

"Oh, honey. I am so sorry to hear that." His mother says, detaching herself from the desk and coming around to stand at Rick's side. Her fingers curl in his but they're all wrong, too short and too warm and he shakes his way out of her grip, stuffs his hands in his pockets again.

Swallowing back a growl, Rick rests his forehead to the cool glass of the windowpane and closes his eyes. "Please, Mother. I don't need your pity."

"Richard, are you sure everything is as it seems? This doesn't seem like something Beckett would do." His mother is saying, but at least she's not touching him anymore. His body is a fortress, impenetrable, and he needs a little space to figure out how to get through this.

Just to find a way to hold it together.

"I'm sure."

"Have you spoken with her?"

He growls, turns away from the window and covers the ground to his desk in three footsteps. Snatching up his glass of scotch, he downs the whole thing and pours another, knocking back half of that as well. Fuck Jim, fuck any lingering sense of respect for the man that keeps him from abusing alcohol to numb his pain. And yes, fuck Jim Beckett's daughter, too. "Why, so she can tell me to my face that a better offer came along?"

"Darling, don't you at least owe her the chance to explain?" His mother says tentatively. He's scaring her and he knows it, can see it in the hum of tension at her jaw, the knot of her hands.

Closing his eyes against his mother's pity, he sets his glass down on the desk again. Suddenly just so exhausted. His entire relationship with Beckett has been a fight. To get her to let him in, trust him, open up. He's had to battle for every inch of her, and he thought he could do it. He thought he could, because the looks and the smiles and the laughter have been such a gift.

He can't do it anymore. Can't work to have her come out of her shell only to watch her fall into someone else's arms. "I don't owe her anything."

A knock on the door rings out across the loft and Rick freezes in place, turns wide eyes to his mother. He knows that knock, can picture all too clearly the slender hand that makes it. What is she doing at his apartment?

"Are you expecting someone?" He asks his mother, desperate for it to be true. Just please let it not be her. He can't face her yet.

Martha heads away from the window and towards him again, her palms flat in supplication. "No, I'm not. Do you want me to tell her to go?"

"Can you just. . .make sure there's nothing wrong?" He gruffs out, hating himself for it. Even though he's mad, even though he hates her more than a little right now, he can't turn it off. How stupid he is with love for her.

"Surely she would have called you if something were wrong?"

"Phone's off." Another knock, this one somehow managing to sound impatient, and he lifts his eyes from his slow perusal of the hardwood. "You know what, I'll go. She's just a woman. I can handle it."

He strides through the living room and to the door before his mother can tell him how ridiculous a notion it is that Kate Beckett is anything less than everything to him (thank you, he knows) and he wrenches open the door before he gives himself any time to second guess it.

"Beckett. What is it?"

"Hey, Castle." She says, so soft. Quiet, but sure. She still seems so certain of this, of them, and now he's seriously just confused. What on earth is going on? Is she looking for some polyamorous kind of arrangement here? Because he is definitely not okay with that. "Can I come in?"

He steps back, pushes the door open and closes it behind her. It's a battle not to slam it closed, but somehow he manages it. Even if he does have to take a moment to breathe before he can turn and face her. "What are you doing here?"

"You left the precinct kind of in a rush." She offers. Now that he's looking at her, he sees how wide open her body language is. As if her guard is down and she's opening herself up to him, to the possibility of getting hurt by him. "And I wanted to let you know in person that I can't make our dinner date."

"Right. Okay."

"Something came up that I- look, I don't want to get into detail now. I'm running late. But this _is_ something I want to share with you. So I was thinking. . .maybe you'd come over later tonight and we can talk?" She finishes her speech on a rush, as if she's terrified, desperate to get the words out.

God help him, he loves her. He wants her, still. He can make her see that he's a better option than Sorenson, right? That he loves her so much more than that smug FBI bastard ever could. That he'd never leave her. Not for James Bond, not for Boston. Not for anything.

"I, uh- I guess I could do that." He shrugs, does his utmost to ignore the entirely devastating grin that splits her face in two. She's so beautiful like this. He just wants to cradle her face between his palms and kiss her, kiss her until she loves him back.

Kate snags one of his hands in both of hers and clutches it to her chest; for half a second he thinks she might dust her mouth to his knuckles before she lets him go. "Thank you, Castle. Let's say ten. Does that work for you?"

"Ten sounds good. I'll see you." He manages, gets a nod from her before she leaves his loft and closes the door behind herself. And even if she is only going to tell him that they're done, that she wants to give it another shot with Captain America, there's still hope.

He's not giving her up without a fight. No, he promised himself that he'd tell her how he feels _today_, and so no matter the change in circumstance, he will.

* * *

By the time ten pm rolls around, Castle's guts are roiling and panic makes his hands clammy, makes him tremble. He drives to Beckett's apartment, needs to feel the roar of the engine underneath him, have something to focus on other than the desperate words that crowd his tongue, choking him with how very much he means them.

He pulls up opposite her building and cuts the engine, takes a moment to scrub his hands down his face. Okay, Rick. Just stay calm. It's fine.

Not like he's about to tell the woman he loves more than his own life that he wants her for himself, that he adores her and he can't watch her get hurt by Sorenson. Or worse. . ._not_ get hurt by him. If Castle has to watch Kate find her happy ever after with someone that isn't him he doesn't know what he'll do.

A movement captures his attention and he drops his hands, watches as the door to Beckett's building opens and she steps out. It's dark, there in the shadows of her building's doorway; he can only tell that it's her at all because he knows her so well.

The lines of her body, the spill of her hair, the absolute confidence and grace with which she holds herself. He's written four books on it; he considers himself something of an expert. Kate steps backwards out of her building and holds the door open for someone else.

It's too dark to see much, but he gets enough. Tall. Male. Sorenson-shaped. And then Kate's wrapping her arms around the man, holding him so close, and jealousy spills up from Castle's gut, bitter and ugly and shameful.

He turns the key in the ignition and starts the engine, shifts his car into drive and pulls away from the curb without looking back at Kate or her companion. Gripping the wheel hard enough that his knuckles are white as he manoeuvres through the rivers of city traffic, desperate to just get back home and hole up inside the loft and never have to face the absolute embarrassment of this situation. He really didn't think she'd make him actually watch her be with someone else.

She can be closed off, she can be hard to reach, but he has never thought of Kate Beckett as cruel.


	3. Chapter 3

**Quietly Forever**

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This time, when Beckett knocks, he's ready for it.

Obviously, she knows he came to her apartment. Saw her with Sorenson. She's a detective, for goodness sake. Probably would have figured out that it was him even if she hadn't seen his car. So he doesn't change into pajamas, doesn't shut off any of the lights.

Doesn't let the vulnerability in. He is steeling himself against Kate Beckett, piece by piece. Rick appeases both his mother and daughter with empty promises. That he's fine, he'll be fine. That he just wants to stay up and write a while and no, he's good, he doesn't need company.

When the knock rings out he's hovering by the door, waiting for it, and he has to force himself to pause a moment before he opens up his loft so at least she won't be able to tell that he's been waiting for her, cringing like a kicked puppy but obeying all the same.

"Beckett." He says, doesn't give her anything else to work with other than her own name. She's changed since he saw her last, into dark jeans and flats and a deep red sweater that hangs off of one shoulder, makes him want to put his mouth right there at the curve of creamy skin where shoulder meets neck.

She smiles at him, but it's a little more self-conscious than before. A little less unashamedly happy. "Hey, Rick."

He winces at that, his own goddamn name. This is what she does to him. Makes him hurt, makes him stupid. "It's late."

"It's only ten thirty." She's quiet, timid and ferocious all at the same time in a way he thinks only Kate ever could be. "Can I. . .come in?"

Castle opens the door a little wider, waits for her to step inside and then closes and locks it behind her. He half expects her to have made herself comfortable already, settled on the couch with her feet folded underneath herself the way she's been doing lately. Like she's at home, peaceful in his loft. With him.

Only she's standing, totally still in the middle of the room. Facing away from him, but even from the back she calls out for the touch of his mouth. "Let's go to my office. Mother and Alexis are sleeping. I don't want to wake them."

Yeah. . .he's pretty sure this conversation isn't going to be all that quiet. He's mad, and he's hurting, and it makes him vicious and scathing. Makes him want to scream at her and smash things, so he's proud that he manages to follow her to his study at a reasonable speed.

Kate heads straight for the window seat. He hovers, unsure what on earth he's supposed to do now, and then she lifts her eyes to him. "Castle. You came to my apartment. I saw the car. Why'd you leave?"

Okay. Alright, Rick. It's fine. No more ignoring it. Just. . .spit it out. "I saw you with Sorenson."

"You- _what_?" She gapes at him, and then understanding dawns across her face. And it looks as if it breaks her heart. "Oh God, Castle, _no_. You heard me at the precinct, on the phone to Will."

He grits his teeth, shifts his weight, does everything he can not to look at her. Having his mother's pity was bad enough; he's not sure he can take Kate's too. "It's fine, Beckett. I get it. You want to give it another shot with him. You told me third time's the charm, right?"

A bitter laugh escapes him and he turns half away from her, scrubs a hand through his hair. Why is she even here? So she can clarify, as if he didn't already know, that he's not enough for her? There's a sound that might be a whimper and – he's so glad – it didn't come from him. When he gathers the strength to look at her she's biting down hard on her lip, her eyes like the birth of a storm.

"Rick, no. No. Come here, please."

She reaches out a hand and of course, he goes. Has no choice, and they both know it. Even now he's powerless when it comes to Kate. He sinks down next to her on the loveseat, facing carefully forward and she grabs for his hand, pulls it into her lap and strokes her fingers over his skin like collecting cobwebs, dipping her chin to meet his eyes.

"You heard me say Will, and you thought it was Sorenson?" She murmurs and then she _cradles his face in her palm_.

He can't handle any more mixed signals. Can't understand what's happening, why she's doing this to him. "Yes. He's back in town?"

"No. Well, I guess he could be. I have no idea." She shrugs, her thumb smoothing over the delicate skin under his eye again and again. Her touch is so wonderful, so perfect and he desperately wants to just soak in it. But still, still, he doesn't understand. He looks to her for clarification and she manages something that could be a smile, even as her brow furrows. "Castle, I haven't spoken to Sorenson in four years."

"So who was at your apartment?" He chokes out, screws his eyes closed and tilts his head away from her gaze. And inadvertently closer into her touch, not that he'd ever be stupid enough to complain about that.

Kate takes a deep, shuddering breath and drops her hand from his cheek, cradling the hand he still has in her lap between both of her own again. She waits for him to look at her and somehow, he does, finding the strength from some recess deep inside of him.

"Castle. The man you overheard me on the phone to, and the man you saw me saying goodbye to at my apartment? His name is William Spencer Beckett. He's my big brother."

He is frozen. Seriously. He can't move. Can't do anything but stare at her, feeling his jaw slowly come unhinged from the rest of his face but completely unable to do anything at all about it. He has no idea how long he sits there like that for, just watching her watching him, but when he eventually manages to speak his voice is hoarse, a shell of its former self.

"You have a brother and you didn't tell me?"

"I am so sorry." She breathes, clutching at his fingers as if she's scared he'll walk away. Honestly, he might have done if he had any control over his basic motor functions at this current moment in time. "I should have told you sooner. I know that. It's just. . .hard for me to talk about."

"Talk now, Kate." He grits out, finally summoning the wherewithal to flip his hand and lace his fingers with hers. "Tell me now."

Her eyes close for just a moment, a deep breath in that makes her chest rise invitingly and then she's ready, just like that. Ready to face anything the world can throw at her. "Will is eight years older than me. My parents actually only planned to have one child. I was a mistake."

"No." He grunts immediately, his fingers clutching at hers. "Not a mistake."

He's thinking about how much the world needs Kate Beckett, of course. But also of his own daughter. How she was a wonderful surprise, something entirely unexpected but never, ever a mistake.

"Right." She nods, shifting her body just a little closer to his. "Will is a primatologist. He travels to rainforests around the world to study primates and their behaviours."

"Cool!" Rick splutters, earning himself a laugh from her. He feels himself blushing, but really. Beckett's mysterious older brother is an intrepid explorer of rainforests? Totally, completely awesome. "Sorry. Go on."

"When, uh- Will used to be out of town for months at a time, with no way to contact him. He was gone when Mom died. Got back late that April."

There's absolutely no way he can just sit here. Castle curls an arm at Beckett's shoulders and draws her in to lean against him, smoothing his fingers at her bicep over and over. "Kate. I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, Castle." He feels her swallow against him and then somehow, she's carrying on. "He disappeared again pretty soon after that. And he can be gone for years at a time now, just travelling from rainforest to rainforest. He loves it so much, Rick. I can't even resent him for it. He's so happy out there with his monkeys."

It's stupid, it's so dangerous, but he can't help himself. He presses a kiss to her temple, feels her stiffen and then relax into it and lets himself draw in the scent of her. "That's a good thing, Kate. You've both found your passions in life. I know your mom would be proud."

"I'm so sorry I cancelled our date. I really, really wanted it. But the last time I saw him was two years before you and I met. And I have no idea how long he'll be in town for." She murmurs, lacing her fingers through his again.

It feels so good, so right to have her here. Warm against him, his mouth at her temple, her fingers threaded through his. He would happily never move again from this spot for the rest of his life. "It's okay. I wish you'd told me earlier, but it's alright Kate."

"Wait, Castle." She sits bolt upright, away from him, and she's frowning again and really, he thought they were past that now. The confession he's been yearning to make all day is right on the tip of his tongue, but she looks heartbroken. "You thought I cancelled on you to go on a date with _Sorenson_?"

"I know, I'm sorry. I jumped to conclusions."

"No, that's not my point. You think I could possibly want to go on a date – could even consider – being with someone who isn't you?" There's a spark of fiery determination in her now and it makes his heart swell with joy, to watch her fight for them.

Not that she needs to. "I should have known you wouldn't accept a date with me and then drop me for someone better. You're not that cruel."

"It's not about cruelty." She huffs, shoving on his shoulder. "There is no one who could possibly be better than you."

His jaw drops and she shrugs, dips her chin as if she's embarrassed. And really, Kate, there's no need. He's just as foolishly enthralled by her as she seems to be with him. Rick touches two fingers to her chin and eases her head up to meet her eyes. "Hey. Feeling's mutual."

"Yeah?"

"_Yeah_." He huffs, settling his fingers at the curve of her waist. He burns to snake his way underneath of her shirt, but this is good too. Just this, right here. He'd happily stay forever.

Kate beams at him, her gaze tripping down to his mouth a moment before she comes back to meet his eyes. "So, this date. Would you have kissed me goodnight?"

"I hope so. I had – still have – something to tell you. So I guess whether I would have kissed you or not would depend on how you reacted."

She lifts an eyebrow at him, that slow and lazy tilt of amusement at the corners of her mouth and her fingers stroking at his knee. Even through his pants, he feels her touch so keenly. "Oh really? And what was it you wanted to say that you needed to wine and dine me for?"

His guts lurch, but he battles through it. Cradles her cheek in his palm and meets her eyes and smiles, lets everything that he feels for her overtake him and ripen his face with joy. "That I am completely, absolutely head over heels in love with you, Kate Beckett."


	4. Chapter 4

**Quietly Forever**

* * *

"I know." She flushes, dipping her chin and steadfastly refusing to look at him. Bright eyed and a delicate flush to the rise of her cheekbones, Kate chews on her lip for a moment before she continues. "I heard you, that day. I just. . .you never said it again. And I didn't want it to be awkward if I brought it up and you had to explain that you didn't really mean it."

Dropping his hand from her face, Rick folds them carefully in his lap in a most likely futile attempt to prevent himself from touching her again. She's so beautiful in her vulnerability; he imagines he can see her heart fluttering right below the surface of her skin.

"I meant it – mean it – more than anything. And I know you want to solve your mom's case first. Before you can really do this."

"No!" She blurts out, glancing up at him with almost as much surprise as is thundering through him right now. "I thought I had to. To make the wall come down. But solving her case won't do that. Almost a year of therapy will."

"You're in therapy?"

"Yes. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just wanted to put in the work."

He huffs, surprised by the hurt that wells up inside of him like a fresh wound. Shrugging, he shifts to be just a little further away from her. Yes, he loves her. Desperate, all-consuming. It doesn't make the pain any less. "I'm used to you keeping things from me."

It makes her wince, makes her shrink back into the seat and pick at the jagged edge of a fingernail. "You're angry about Will."

"I'm hurt that you didn't trust me enough to tell me." Rick gruffs out, his hands in fists against his knees. He would never, ever do anything to hurt her, but she's so goddamn frustrating that it takes all of his self-control not to smash something else.

Maybe launch a glass at the cover art for the latest Nikki Heat book the same way he did this time last year. And why, anyway, do they always fight right before the summer? Twice now he's lost her for the duration of the warm weather, only managing to restore their equilibrium once the leaves turn.

He will not do it again. "I don't know what more I can do to make you see me, Kate. I'm right here, I have been this whole time."

"I know. I know you are. I'm so sorry." She grabs for his hand and he lets her have it, finds that even now he can't deny her anything. And maybe that's part of their problem. When it comes to Kate, he finds it so hard to stand up for himself, to push her for any more than she gives of herself.

It's why they've been in this stalemate for almost a year now, neither of them willing to risk their heart for the possibility of more. "Kate. I want to be the person you talk to. I want to be your partner in everything. Not just the precinct."

"You already are." Her answer is immediate, certain, and it appeases something raw inside him he didn't know was there.

"Okay."

Kate shifts to get closer to him, the side of her body coming up against his and he wants her so much, too much. Of course she knows it; the more optimistic side of him wants to believe that she feels it too. Her fingers are stroking over the vibrant blue of his veins at his wrist, the skin there soft and papery.

"When something happens, I want to tell you. No matter what it is. If I get a flat tire or I see a funny poster on the subway, all I want to do is call you and tell you about it."

"So why don't you?"

Her head falls to rest against his shoulder and it startles him, makes him jerk in surprise and throw her off. Entirely on accident, but she sits ramrod straight at his side instead, her body almost trembling with what he assumes to be restraint. It's been four years, four books, but he feels like he doesn't know her at all.

"It didn't seem fair to you. To behave as if we were in a relationship, but not be able to go all in with you." She seems mournful, as if they've already missed their chance, and he hates it.

Rick uncurls his fist and splays his fingers at her knee, in part to halt the jackhammer of her movement but also just because he needs to feel the warmth of her skin through her dress pants, the way her whole body lifts into his touch. "And now?"

"I said yes to a date, didn't I?" She manages a grin, even if it is a little watery at the edges. He can't help but wonder how different tonight would have been if her brother hadn't called.

Would he have been brave enough to bare his heart? Would she have been as responsive as she is now? He hopes so. "But then you cancelled."

"That was a mistake. I shouldn't have made you feel less important than Will. This – us – it's the most important thing in my life, Castle."

He feels his jaw drop at that. Kate's sitting there, demure as ever, looking as if she hasn't just shaken the very foundations of his knowledge of her. This whole time he's been operating under the assumption that her mother's case is the most important thing and only by solving it will they ever have a chance.

But here she is, telling him otherwise. Offering him an olive branch he can snatch up with both hands. "What about your mom?"

"Of course it matters, and I do want to get justice for her. But it doesn't have to be today. And she'd want me to live my life, to honour her that way. Doctor Burke helped me to see that."

"That's your therapist?"

"Yeah." She nods, her mouth quirking up at the corner. He's so glad for it. At least even when she hasn't been able to talk to him, to let him help, she's had someone else to do so in his place. He's. . .a little jealous, yes, but relieved too.

"That's really great, Kate. I know she'd be proud of you."

Chewing on her lip again, Beckett regards him for a moment and then seems to steel herself. "The reason I said yes to dinner with you, Rick, is because I want to start living. And I want to do that with you. I'm done holding back."

"Okay. . ." He trails off, waiting on her to clarify what exactly that means for them.

"Do you think we could still have our date?" She says softly, watching him through the ink of her lashes. Her mouth parted in anticipation and he wants, badly, to kiss her.

Not yet. "Sure. And if it's okay with you, I'd really like to meet this mysterious brother of yours."

She giggles, then, toppling sideways into him with joy. And he lets himself laugh too, his face against the crown of her head to bask in the scent of her. It's quite strange, to be laughing together in his study at close to midnight. For his love to be out in the open, something beautiful between them.

"I'd really like that. I'm sure you'll get on great. Maybe we could meet him for lunch tomorrow?" Kate murmurs, her head pillowed against his shoulder now. He'd quite happily stay here, with her, for the rest of his life.

"Sure. Just let me know what the plan is, okay?"

"Okay." She yawns, enormously, and then she giggles and buries her face against him. "I think that's my cue to leave."

"You could stay." She sits up to look at him, her eyebrow arched and he splutters to continue. "I mean- guest room. . .not that I- if you wanted to- we could."

Kate stands up slowly, rolling her shoulders in a way that makes her body look so damn enticing he hardly knows what to do with himself. So he does what he always has. Follows her.

"We're not quite there yet, Castle." She says, because they both know that if she stayed it wouldn't be in the guest room. And yeah, she's right.

He's still hurting over her secrets, the dual blow more than he can get over in five minutes. Yes, he understands her motivations. Why she kept both her brother and her memories from him. Doesn't really lessen the sting. Only time can do that now, but he hopes that having her smiling at him just the way she is now will help.

"Right."

Somehow, they make it to his front door and he manages to open it for her without making a bumbling fool of himself. She steps through and then hesitates in the threshold, turning back to him. "Until tomorrow?"

"Of course."

"Castle. Thank you, for understanding. And. . .for loving me." She lifts a shoulder and he scrambles for her hand, cradles it against his chest in both of his.

Before he can think better of it, he skims his mouth over her knuckles. A part of him wants to say _always_, but he worries that if he says it too much it will lose all meaning. "I won't stop. No matter how long you need."

Coming in close to his body, Kate lifts onto tiptoe and pushes her mouth against his, her fingers curled at his shoulder. It's a burst of a kiss, startling and utterly exhilarating and when she drops back to the floor she laughs at the utter shock he can feel all over his face.

"I don't need long at all."

She takes back the hand he's still holding on to and clasps both of hers, presses her lips together as she regards him. Rationally, he knows he ought to say something. Or maybe kiss her again. But he's dumbstruck, paralysed, can only watch as she turns and heads down the hallway towards the elevator with a last smile cast over her shoulder at him.

Rick waits for the elevator to arrive and Kate to step inside before he closes the front door, leaning heavily against it and pressing a hand to his mouth to keep the taste of her safe and close. If this is how it's going to work, them dating and kissing and actually managing a somewhat normal relationship for once?

He can't wait.


	5. Chapter 5

**Quietly Forever**

* * *

Castle wakes to a call from Beckett, completely unable to stifle his grin at the sound of her voice on the other end of the line. She's going to drive right past his loft on her way to the crime scene, she says, so she'll come pick him up.

Stumbling out of bed, Rick hurries through the fastest shower in the history of mankind and throws on clothes. The blue button-down that always has Kate taking an extra second to let her gaze linger. He knows she likes it, how the cut flatters him and the colour brings out his eyes.

In the kitchen, he busies himself filling their travel mugs with coffee and shovels down a slice of toast, the energy that bubbles up inside of him making him hardly able to even stand still at the counter, let alone sit.

Last night feels like a watershed moment for them. Now, he can love her openly. And even if she didn't say it back, even if they aren't officially together yet, it's still amazing. So yeah, he's more than a little excited to see her.

When he's ready he heads down to the street, leaning against the side of the building to wait on Beckett. She pulls up beside him and reaches over to open the door, accepting the coffee he offers and taking a grateful sip before she sets it in the cup holder.

Climbing inside of the car, he fastens his seatbelt and leans back against the headrest, balancing his coffee against his knee and huffing a sigh. Okay, so the pace of the morning has him a little out of breath. Now he's at her side, exactly where he should be, and all of the anxiety and uncertainty just evaporates.

"Good morning, Detective."

Glancing over at her, he's a little surprised to see that she doesn't move away from the curb. Instead, she leans in and braces a palm at his cheek, kissing him closed-mouthed and sweet. It startles him for a moment, but somehow he remembers how to use his limbs and cups the back of Kate's neck, holding her close when she starts to pull away.

Pressing a last kiss to her mouth, he lets her go and delights in the flush that rises at the top of her cheekbones, touching his thumb to the fullness of her bottom lip before he sits back.

"Morning, Castle." She murmurs, putting the car in gear and pulling away from the curb. Rick wriggles in his seat, utterly delighted with her.

He had hoped that it would be like this, that they could just fall into it. And now here she is kissing him good morning. "So. . .what do we know about the case?"

"Really?" She smirks, taking the opportunity afforded by a red light to lift an eyebrow at him. "You want to talk about the case right now?"

Rick buries his grin in his coffee cup and shrugs at her, tries to play it like it isn't absolutely everything. "Oh? Is there something else you think we should be talking about?"

The light changes and Kate presses the accelerator, easing the car along the riverbed of city traffic. And even though it's something he's seen hundreds of times before, Beckett driving, his mouth is still dry and his guts tight with arousal.

He is _in love_ with her and she knows it and she keeps sending him these little sideways looks as if to check that he's still there. "Well. I thought you'd be eager to put a label on. . .this."

"I'm good." He says quietly, tries to arrange himself to look as at ease as possible. Not that it's difficult, not really. This past year he's been on edge, desperate not to put a foot wrong, and in comparison this is so god damn easy.

"I called Will. Asked him to meet us at Remy's for lunch."

"Great." Rick enthuses, managing to tone down his excitement a good few notches from the level it was at last night. It's just that Kate Beckett is so unspeakably awesome, and he has no doubt that her brother will be much the same.

He's seriously looking forward to meeting Will. And yes, nervous too. What if Kate's brother doesn't like him, doesn't think that Castle is good enough for his baby sister? He has no idea what he'd do in that situation.

"You're thinking very loudly."

"Oh. Yeah." He laughs, shaking his head at himself. Kate pulls up at the curb and he assumes they've arrived, but rather than getting out of the car she turns to look at him. He shrugs. "I just- what if Will doesn't like me?"

"He'll love you." She says, with so much confidence that he almost manages to believe her. "But Rick, even if he didn't? Doesn't matter."

He frowns, tilts his head at her. "Of course it matters. I want your family to like me."

"No, I mean that it wouldn't change anything. I'd still. . .want you." She beams at him, her whole face opened up with it and it's wide and beautiful and then she's leaning in to kiss him again.

This time, her tongue slicks inside and her fingers sift through the hair at his nape and when her teeth come to his lip he has to tear his mouth away, breathing hard. "I want you too. So please don't start something now, because I can't stop myself."

"Right. Right. We should have our date first." She nods, unbuckling her seatbelt and climbing out of the car. So graceful, and he gets a rather magnificent view of her ass as she does. And then she's turning back, giving him a look as if to say _what are you doing_ and he hurries to follow her.

* * *

By some miracle, he's allowed to hold Kate's hand on the short walk from the precinct to Remy's. He kind of assumed that she'd want to keep this thing between them quiet, but she seems quite content at his side. Her strides are long, matching his, and he can feel the shift of her bicep as she moves.

At the door, he hesitates and she turns to look at him, not even having to ask. It must be all over his face, how desperately he wants this to go well. She's wearing those ridiculous heels, and it means she doesn't even have to lift onto tiptoe in order to kiss him. Just has to lean in and brush her mouth to his.

They slide into their usual booth and when the girl who usually serves them, Sarah, comes to get their order he doesn't miss the subtle raise of her brows. Because they're both on the same side of the booth, Kate pressed right up against his side and their hands are still tangled.

To the outside eye they look nauseating, he supposes. The kind of sickening brand-new couple that can't keep their hands off of each other. Which he supposes they actually _are_, in a way. Kate waves Sarah away, tells the girl they're waiting for someone else to join them.

Before Rick gets a chance to say anything at all the door is opening and Beckett's brother is stepping through. He recognises Will even before Kate nudges his side and gestures to the man now beaming at them.

The eyes, the jawline, the sharp slash of the cheekbones; it's all exactly the same. He'd recognise William Beckett anywhere. Kate stands up from the booth and wraps her arms around her brother, huffing a laugh when he squeezes tight and lifts her off her feet for a moment.

Rick slides out of the booth and shakes Will's hand, somehow managing to return the grin the younger man gives him. Well, not really that much younger, only a couple years. But Will doesn't have the same city-worn ruggedness as Rick does; he looks as if he could be the same age as Kate.

The three of them climb back into the booth and Kate rests her cheek to Castle's shoulder a moment, grinning wide and clasping her hands under her chin. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"Oh please Katie, like I'd miss out on the chance to meet your writer." Will laughs, shifting his gaze to Rick and lifting an eyebrow. It's exactly the same as Kate, the mirrored action socking him in the gut and he reaches for underneath the table, curls a hand at her knee. "I haven't read any of the books, but Dad tells me they paint a pretty flattering picture of my sister."

Castle shrugs, glancing to Kate. Her eyes meet his and she smiles encouragingly, the two of them staring at each other until Will snorts. Turning back, Rick sees Kate's brother shaking his head at them and hastens to speak. "Yeah. It's not exactly hard to make her seem extraordinary. She does that for herself."

"So, I take it you two are a little more than work partners." Will teases, gesturing as if to point out the close confines of their bodies. Oh, Castle knows, hyperaware of every brush of Kate's body next to his own. "Funny, Dad didn't mention that."

Kate flushes, but she doesn't move away, doesn't try to seem any less affected than she is. "It's new. Don't be a bully."

"As long as his intentions are pure." Will schools his face, staring Castle down and Rick gulps, endlessly grateful for the reassurance of Kate at his side. He's prepared for Jim to haze him, knows all too well what it's like being a father to a daughter.

But the big brother routine? He's entirely not ready for that. "I, uh. . .I love her very much. I won't hurt her, if that's what you're worried about."

And then Will laughs, reaches across the table to punch Rick's arm in a show of solidarity. "Relax, buddy. I know Katie can take care of herself. But good to know."

"Yeah." Kate murmurs at his side, pressing a kiss to his cheek so quickly that he very nearly misses it. "Good to know."

Sarah comes back to take their order and Kate introduces the girl to her brother, her voice swelling with pride as she does so. Even if Castle didn't know her as intimately as his own self, he could recognise her joy at having her brother back in town.

"So Will, are you staying with Jim?" Rick asks, trying his best not to creepy-stare at Kate's brother. It's just so _fascinating_, how he's so much like Beckett in his mannerisms and his dialect but also totally different.

Will nods, glancing to Kate before his gaze comes to rest on Rick again. "Yeah. I'm not sure how long I'll be in town."

"It's great that you're here, however long." Kate says quietly. In it, Castle hears the loneliness and the vulnerability of the girl who just needed her brother, both of their parents lost to them. A wave of rage crashes over him and Kate must sense it because she smoothes her fingers at his thigh, the touch enough to distract him.

"Well clearly I should come back more often." Will grins. Rick decides that he really likes Beckett's brother. There's something so easy about him, so relaxed. Much the same as what he's only just this past year been able to draw out of Kate. "I seem to have missed my baby sister falling in love."

At his side, Kate freezes, and Castle does his utmost to gloss right over it. She's not there yet, he knows, and he really doesn't want to scare her off. "You've missed some crazy cases, too. Can we tell him about the dirty bomb? Oh, no, the tiger!"

His enthusiasm makes her laugh and she relaxes in increments, the arrival of their food doing the rest of the work to distract her for him.

It's fine. He doesn't even mind that the thought of being in love with him panics her so much. They'll get there.


	6. Chapter 6

**Quietly Forever**

* * *

Meandering back towards the precinct after lunch, Will having left Remy's in the opposite direction to them, Richard Castle can hardly keep himself from spilling over with delight. He is in New York City, paragon of dreams. The weather is just starting to roll over into spring, bursts of colour everywhere he looks. Tremulous life pushing up through the cracks in the sidewalks, the sills of the city's windows abundant with flora in colours that make his mouth water.

And by his side, hand clasped loosely in his, is Kate Beckett. Her skin is warm, palm a little clammy, and she smells sweet like honeysuckle. But it's not the soft, familiar smell of her or the brush of the creamy skin at her inside wrist against his that makes him grin.

She keeps darting these little sideways glances at him, and every time he catches her at it she smiles, wide and beautiful. And eventually, he just can't take it anymore. He tugs her with him to lean against the cool granite edifice of some office building and cups her face in his hands, cradling the arc of her joy.

It's fluid, like water slipping through his fingers and she shivers. Whether from the sudden shade or the nudge of his body against her he doesn't know, but it ceases to matter when he leans in to kiss her. Soft and sweet and lovely, tender in a way he's always wanted to be with her.

He had sort of always assumed that one day it would just be too much to ignore and they'd fall in to bed together, wake up with their bodies bruised and reddened and marked with their cataclysmic union. It never even occurred to him that it could be like this, that they could be quite content just to kiss.

Not forever - desire pools low down in his guts and he wants her badly, soon it will be too much to ignore. But for now, this is more than enough. "Hey. Are you sure we have to go back to work?"

"I want to solve this case. So you can take me out to dinner."

He returns her smile, smoothes his thumb along the line of her jaw. And he knows he has to say it. Even if he is hesitant. "Kate. . .there's always a case. And I think- I don't want to keep waiting for the right time. There's never going to be a perfect moment."

"What are you saying?" She says quietly, but there are flecks of teasing in it. He _knows_ her, well enough to tell when she's hurting. And right now, she isn't. Confused yes, but amused by him too.

He shrugs, darts in to kiss her again. The touch of her mouth against his imbues him with courage, and suddenly it's easy. "I want to take you out tonight. No matter where we are with the case."

"Okay." She laughs, harder still when she sees his face. He must look as startled as he feels, because she's palming his cheek and leaning in to kiss him. "Let's go on our date tonight."

He kisses her again for that, once more, and then he tangles his fingers with hers and they carry on down the sidewalk. Has he mentioned that he really, _really_ likes this? Walking hand in hand with Kate, soaking in the utterly unique hum of this city.

There's no rush. Not to get back to work, not to throw themselves into this thing. She told him once that she wanted to dive right in, but this between them is more like wading slowly into the ocean. Easy and luxurious, keeping them both buoyant.

"This is really nice." She murmurs, looking a little embarrassed to have even said that out loud. Squeezing her fingers in his, Rick draws her close enough against his side that their thighs bump together as they walk. He doesn't even trust himself to speak, to respond in any way other than with the way he touches her.

They walk in silence for a couple more blocks, the grip of their hands breaking apart around a queue for a hotdog vendor's stall. When they meet again at the other side he draws an exaggerated breath in, hums his pleasure at the smell of the food and she giggles, rests her head at his shoulder for a fleeting moment.

The persistent nudge of her fingers in his startles him a little, has him glancing over at her in surprise. He wasn't really expecting her to be so willing to do this. Hold his hand in the middle of the street. But already he's learning that Kate Beckett is romantic and fun and so _happy_.

At the crosswalk the sign is lit to tell them not to walk and Rick takes the opportunity to curl his arm at her waist and kiss her temple, mindful of the tourists that spill around them. When Kate slips her fingers into his belt as if to hold on, his heart lifts like a crescendo, but then the sign is switching to _walk_ and Beckett is untangling herself from his grip, tugging them both across the street.

There's a shortcut through a park to get them back to the precinct. He stays quiet, enjoying just strolling along the path with the woman he loves. If he ignores the fact that they're on their way to solve a murder, he can almost pretend that it's an ordinary day and they're an ordinary couple.

The weather brings the people out in droves, young lovers sprawled together on picnic blankets. With a start, he realises that that's them now. Lovers. He turns to Kate, maybe to share that revelation with her, and sees her chewing on her bottom lip.

He doesn't like that furrow between her brows, the way she suddenly seems not quite with him. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She nods, managing a smile for him. They come up beside a bench and she tugs him to sit with her, their bodies aligned shoulder to knee. He really likes it, likes even more when she nuzzles closer and drops her head to his shoulder. "Castle. . .about what Will said at lunch."

Oh. Right. He was hoping to just let that slide, just leave it alone. Doesn't think he can bear to hear her refute it. "Kate, it's okay. We don't have to talk about it."

"No, we do." She says, steadfast as ever. Her detective persona like a flare that sparks up inside of her. Only now, it marbles together with her Kate facets, makes this woman that he knows so well and also doesn't know at all.

"Alright."

"I'm sorry that I reacted that way." Shame colours her cheeks, a delicate flush underneath her cheekbones that he wants to kiss away. And he can, now.

He kisses her until she smiles against his mouth, the lovely pink of her face for an entirely different reason now. "You don't have to be sorry. I understand."

"No, I don't think you do." She shakes her head, enfolding one of his hands in both of hers. For a moment, he debates brushing it off, making some joke about him still finding new layers to the Beckett onion. But she looks so serious that all he can do is stay quiet and wait for her. "It wasn't because I don't feel it, Rick. I just didn't want that to be the first time you heard it. From my brother."

"Kate-" He gapes, can't get past the wonderful shape and form of her name in his mouth. Does she mean. . .?

And then she's smiling, her hands cradling his face as she leans in to kiss him. Her thumbs circle in front of his ears, distracting him momentarily from the hot slick of her tongue in his mouth, but that's-

Oh, _Kate_.

She pulls back, breathless, and laughs at the look on his face. "Castle. My brother is right. He did miss it."

"Can you say it?" He whispers, grabs for her hands to hide how his own are trembling. This past year, he's started to let himself believe that she cares about him too. The way she smiles at him, laughs with him, buys him dinner and flares with jealousy when he notices another woman. It all came together to point to an inevitable conclusion.

Now, hope is swelling inside him and he feels he might just come apart at the seams, have it come rushing out of him for everyone to see.

Kate kisses him again, softer this time. And then she pulls away, and her smile is like nothing he's seen in his life before. "I love you."

"You love me." He breathes against her mouth, body crying out in exaltation, and then he's kissing her, kissing her, and he wants nothing more than to live inside this moment forever.

* * *

At the precinct later that afternoon he's giddy, can hardly keep still in his chair beside her desk. The boys, stellar detectives that they are, noticed the change in his relationship with Kate immediately. And not because they walked on him pressing his thumbs into the thick rope of muscle at her shoulder to work out a knot of tension.

Not at all. He's way too stealthy for that.

His heel is bouncing against the floor, his knee jigging, and it truly must be a testament to the depths of Kate's adoration for him that she has yet to so much as raise an eyebrow in his direction. Normally, she'd send him on errands to get him out of her sight so she didn't have to shoot him.

Well. . .normally he isn't unable to keep still. Normally, the woman he has been in love with since the dawn of time itself hasn't just told him she loves him back. He's just about to take himself off, try and find something to do to give Kate a break from the utterly ridiculous level of delight he's peaked at, and then his phone rings.

He tugs it free from his pants pocket, wrinkles his nose at the foreign number. Oh, and that's a habit of Kate's that he's picked up somewhere along the way. The thought makes him wriggle in pleasure even as he swipes his thumb across the screen to answer the call.

"Castle."

"Hey, Rick. It's Will. Will Beckett."

Whoa, okay. "Hi, Will. Are you looking to get hold of Kate?"

"No, actually." Beckett's brother laughs. "I was looking for you. I feel like I should get to know you, without Katie there to breathe down our necks. So you wanna get a beer some time?"

He chances a glance over at Kate, finds her very pointedly not looking at him. He can't help but wonder whether she put Will up to this, but no matter. "That sounds great. Maybe tomorrow night? There's this really great bar called the Old Haunt. I know the owner."

That makes Kate snort with laughter and he nudges at her ankle with the toe of his shoe, lifts a brow when she meets his eyes.

"Sounds great. Text me the address and I'll meet you at eight tomorrow?"

"Sure. See you then." Rick says, hanging up the call and dropping his phone to the surface of Beckett's desk. "You gave your brother my number."

"Yes. Well, he asked me for it."

"Mm-hmm." Rick says with faux nonchalance, saving Will's number as a contact in his phone and pocketing it again, leaning back in his chair to watch her. "I think I'm gonna head out. Get ready for our date."

"Okay." She smiles up at him, her whole face somehow, impossibly, growing more beautiful with it. "I'll see you tonight."

"See you." He grins back, forces himself to head for the elevator before he does something really stupid like kiss her in the bullpen for everyone to see.

The cocktail of nerves and excitement in his gut makes him pace within the confines of the elevator car and he shoves his hands into his pants pockets, takes a deep breath. No big deal, right?

Only the first official date with the woman he's known for a while he wants to marry someday.


End file.
